This blog’s future after I reach my goal…

So I thought about this. Once I reach my goal weight (31 more pounds to go!), I’ll have to change the name of this blog to, “Amy Lost and Won,” or something like that. Or I could just change it to a name that reflects the topics I like to focus on, which are not limited to simply weight loss or the fatness of our society. I’m not sure. I suppose I have 31 more pounds of time to think about it, though. 🙂

More people keep noticing how small I’m getting. I’m still asked the dreaded, “what have you been doing?” question, as if my answer is going to be a magic, easy solution. I’m tempted to start saying, “I’ve been doing the ‘Don’t Be A Dumbass’ diet,” just to see how people would react. I’ll have to replace the word “dumbass” with something more PC if I’m to use this response while I’m at work. It’s really liberating, though, to admit that I ate too much. People always want to tiptoe around that fact with fat people, the fact that they eat too much and usually the wrong things for a human body to be able to process.

So the economy is shit-tastic, and people are getting angrier and angrier that the things that happened to create this crisis (like huge bonuses to executives who are already sickeningly rich) are still happening. People are also going to start cutting back and being more frugal. Some people may even be eating healthier by default, and having less purchasing power they’ll be eating less. Will the one positive side effect of this horrible financial crisis be less obesity? It sucks that it has to come to this for people to stop being so fat. Actually, no, the other positive effects I hope will happen is that people will start to re-evaluate their personal ethics and values, and maybe become less greedy. The fat-cats on Wall Street will most likely remain greedy scumfucks, but the rest of us I think will hopefully learn that values like love and respect for other people trumps the desire for the newest car or the biggest house. Hopefully people will slow down and relax more with their families and have more quality time with people they love, and learn to be rich in other ways besides financially.

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the aftermath of holiday overeating…

Well, I’m the only child of a divorced marriage, and both my folks ended up being remarried and had my 2 sisters. In a perfect world, we could all get along and do one big Christmas celebration together, but since the big D (divorce) is a factor in these familial relationships, it makes for many separate Christmas celebrations. My dad’s second marriage ended after 5 years, so when I have Christmas with Dad, I also have it with the sister that my ex-stepmom had w/ Dad. Back in the day when we were little, we’d alternate Christmases with each set of parents, but it all started to get too complicated and stressful, so my dad was cool enough to start just having his own separate Christmas with me and my oldest younger sister. Now that we’re all adults, the celebration has changed a bit, and is way less lavish and simpler than it used to be. But overeating still happens, and after this final Christmasing was overwith on Sunday evening of this past weekend, I was left feeling bloated and unwell. Also, I’m sure this is a product of my childhood stressors, but I have a lot of mixed feelings about the holidays, and I’m always a little relieved when it’s over. Taking down my tiny tree is the most cathartic experience ever. My sister shares the same sentiment. She not only has the big D to contend with, her mom’s family is just very large and it would be a nigh impossible task to have just one Christmas, so like me she is always pretty much over it after New Year’s.

I’m happy to report that just 4 days later, I feel good again. I still like to indulge like everyone else (see my last entry), but when I do too much, I feel it hardcore. I was literally in pain and feeling like ass for 2 days after. I’ve stayed on program, however, since Sunday night (which is when I was like, “I’m so full, I never want to eat again!”), and I’m feeling MUCH better.

It’s amazing how after you get used to having a mostly clean diet that when you do indulge and go a little overboard with it, how painful it can be. The digestive punishment I received is a reminder that I’m so happy living a day-to-day healthy lifestyle. My Sunday “cheat” dinner is never nearly as decadent as any holiday fare! And any dessert I choose to have is usually tiny and insignificant compared to the rich fudge and Christmas cookies that I tend to nosh on during “that time of year.” I tend to go for things on the healthier side of “bad” anyway on Sundays, I’m just not as stringent with the “rules” I follow as I usually am. A better way to put it is that I tend to go for quality, not quantity when I’m having my once-a-week cheat meal.

My gym re-opens on Saturday (as I’ve said before, it’s a campus gym at a university, and they close seasonally for maintainence, etc.), and I’m so psyched to go work out! I’ve been exercising at home, but I’m craving a HARDCORE gym workout. I also plan on hitting the sauna as a reward afterwards…

Another thing I’ve been thinking about lately is that people tend to reward themselves for accomplishments with food. Every celebration revolves around some kind of food. What if we rewarded ourselves by doing something FUN instead? Or by doing something simple like taking a hot bath with our favorite bath salts, or having a cup of tea (non-sugared of course). Why does it always have to be stuffing our faces that we reward ourselves and each other with? Food for thought (pun SO intended).

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Sneak away those calories!

The title of this article is amusing to me: “Sneaky ways to cut 100 calories…” click here to be sneaky! I found the tips to be more common sense than anything. Just like the 20 Worst Foods in America link from Men’s Health, you have to click on each item on the list to see the tips. Honestly, I prefer black coffee these days. I used to load mine down with cream and sugar until I acquired a taste to the unadulterated beans. Now I can’t stand sweetened or flavored coffee. Also, it’s nice to know that my daily cup of joe is good for me. 🙂

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The 20 Worst Foods in America

Men’s Health magazine has compiled a list of the 20 worst foods in America as far as caloric, fat, and sodium content. You can see it here . It’s the red list on the left, and you have to click on each individual item to see the info about it. I wasn’t very surprised, honestly. Most things you get at a restaurant are “fully loaded” and many of the appetizers contain enough calories to make up at least a few meals. I do appreciate how they included an alternative you could get at whatever eating establishment the entrees and appetizers came from that would be better for you. I’m intrigued by the book Eat This, Not That , and would love to check it out sometime. I’m sure a lot of it is common sense, but I’m always interested to read these things.

Speaking of knowing how loaded with gunk your food is, New York City passed legislation that requires restaurants and other food vendors to post the caloric content of all their foods. People reacted both with relief and disdain. Check it! Check out the quotes from people who would rather remain in denial about what they’re eating. I can’t really understand this whole mentality of, “what you don’t know can’t hurt you.” Like not knowing that your Starbucks mocha-choka latta-haha frou-frou drink has 8 bajillion calories will magically make it so that it doesn’t and that drinking 5 of them a day will not make your ass fat. My Nana has this joke that the last bite of your food has the most calories in it, so leaving a few bites behind will save you from the massive calories. She is, of course, joking, but I’m bemused to see that people actually believe in that sort of denial. I was especially blown away by the woman wanting to trade menus with the other woman who’s menu didn’t have the calorie information on it yet. The stupid, it burns!

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Holiday treats and overindulgence

We’ve been having a discussion on My Fat Spouse about how in office and other work environments, particularly during this time of year, people feel the need to foist upon each other gratuitous amounts of various baked goods and other very decadent fare on a nearly daily basis because it’s “the Holidays!” It can be particularly challenging for those of us who are either trying to stay conscious of our health, or who are trying to lose weight. It’s not so much people offering me this stuff that bothers me, it’s the “are you sure?” questions and feeling like these people are pushing this stuff on me like crack dealers. Look, it’s not a personal affront on you if I turn down your homemade fudge. It’s just that at my own family gatherings I’ll have plenty of opportunity for such indulgences, and I’m “saving myself” for the really special stuff. This means I have to pick and choose, and on days that aren’t proper holiday celebrations, I’m abstaining and keeping to my normal dietary habits; 3 healthy meals, 2 healthy snacks, and one small, planned indulgence per week. I do believe if one is following a weight loss plan they should be able to allow for a treat here and there, but it should be controlled. This way, one gets to indulge on occasion and enjoy those treats, but they don’t go “hog wild” either. I am certainly not a “food nazi” and I see nothing wrong with a cookie once in awhile, or a piece of chocolate or whatever. But there should be a limit and these treats were not made for everyday consumption. For some reason in our culture those treats that should be limited are given out in abundance at all times, and it increases tenfold during the Holidays. It annoys me to no end, too, that people take it personally if you turn down what they offer you. I’m lucky to have most of my family members not be the kind of person to get crappy with you if you don’t want to completely stuff yourself. But for some reason some of my coworkers and other people I encounter are major food pushers. The only way a lot of these people will back off me is if one of the ingredients happens to be soy or dairy (which I’m allergic to). I mean, I AM allergic to those things, but I’m not hypersensitive and if I eat one cookie (most chocolate has soy lecithin in it), one piece of cheese, etc. I won’t break out, but I like to plan and choose when I partake of such an indulgence, not spontaneously have it foisted upon me. But the allergy thing is the only excuse people seem to respect. Being truthful about wanting to lose weight and citing that I didn’t lose what I have by eating a bunch of junk only gets me those patronizing, “one won’t hurt you,” or, “aw, you’re not as fat as SOME people, go ahead!” comments.

Holidays like Thanksgiving have the potential to be really nice and have way more meaning than the food. Thanksgiving was originally conceived as a way to, duh, give thanks about the blessings in your life, spend time with people you love, and also to celebrate Autumn and the harvest by sharing a meal with those you care about. But it seems like now it’s mostly devolved into a giant glut-fest with the primary focus being eating as much as humanly possible until you’re writhing around on the floor in pain from indigestion. It’s National Gluttony day! And for a lot of people in the U.S. it starts with Thanksgiving and ends with the half-hearted New Year’s resolution to start “hitting the gym” and “go on a diet.” If people could just practice a little restraint and indulge on just the actual holiday itself, most of us would not gain as much weight as we do during the holidays. Then again, I speak as though there’s a difference between the holidays and most Americans’ everyday habits. I think if anything, most people eat too much everyday, then just eat a sickeningly gross amount at the holidays.

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